GAMBLE: Brendan Rodgers dropped his captain and it paid off in the end [GETTY]

Anfield heaved a massive sigh of relief as Glen Johnson clinched the Reds first Premier League victory since the middle of October with a header five minutes from time.

Rodgers will have been as relieved as any inside the ground after seeing his mis-firing side finally put an end to a miserable run of three straight league defeats at the end of a week he admitted his job was under threat.

The result vindicated the Ulsterman's decision to leave former England captain Gerrard on the bench - alongside £87million-worth of summer signings.

The most controversial move was to leave out 34-year-old Gerrard exactly 16 years to the day the legendary midfielder made his first ever Liverpool appearance.

GOAL: Glen Johnson is mobbed by his teammates after scoring the winner [GETTY]

Rodgers has been desperately searching for an answer to Liverpool's woes, whichhave seen Liverpool struggle at Anfield so far this term - taking just eight points out of a possible 18 before the visit of Stoke.

He used his programme notes to admit his side has not been good enough and urged Liverpool's fans to stay patient.

That patience was tested in a tepid opening 20 minutes which saw the Reds fail to create a single chance.

It was 27 minutes before Liverpool threatened the Stoke goal and, even then, Lambert hopelessly drilled a 20-yard free-kick high over Asmir Begovic's crossbar.

Stoke survived half-hearted penalty appeals close to half-time when full-back Erik Pieters charged Lucas to the ground inside the box.

But referee Craig Pawson was about as unmoved as the crowd had been for most of the half and waved play on with little hesitation.

One of the few bonuses for Liverpool before the break was that a defence which has been notoriously frail this season escaped any serious test.

There had been few signs Liverpool were playing to lift the pressure on their manager in the first half, but the Reds were so much livelier after the break.

Jordan Henderson hit the side-netting in the 52nd minute with a glancing left-footed volley after the visitors back-line had failed to clear the initial danger from a a Lambert effort.

Stoke's response was almost immediate, with striker Mame Diouf springing clear of Glen Johnson and testing Simon Mignolet with a low shot after the Belgian stopper failed to come off his line.

Liverpool escaped again on the hour mark when Skrtel backed off Stoke midfielder Bojan so much the Spaniard found himself able to smash a shot against Mignolet's right-hand post.

BENCH: The Reds captain, Gerrard, started from the bench [GETTY]

Raheem Sterling drove a low shot across the face of goal as the Anfield crowd finally warmed to the increased effort, then Lucas had a close-range effort blocked by Asmir Begovic.

Johnson at last found his attacking edge, with a swift break which ended with Lambert testing Bekovic again from 15 yards.

And Coutinho skimmed a shot off the top of the bar in the 69th minute after Sterling had danced around Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross to find space to clip a clever pass.

Mignlolet's confidence will have been boosted by a flying save to deny substitute Charlie Adam a spectacular curling effort against his former club.

But one of the biggest cheers of the afternoon came a a few moments later as Gerrard was finally brought into the action with 16 minute remaining.

That was eclipsed five minutes from time as Johnson threw himself headlong at the ball to clinch a win so needed by Rodgers.